1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bag-in-box style cartons and containers, of the type in which a non-self-supporting plastic bag or the like is positioned in a surrounding, supporting container structure, the entire package being disposable after a single use. The present invention also relates to large volume urn-style beverage containers.
2. The Prior Art
Urn-style beverage containers, for the containment and controlled incremental dispensing of a relatively large volume (2+ gallons) of liquid are known. Typically, such urn-style beverage containers are reusable devices of metal and plastic, which can be heavy, and which; of course, require cleaning after each use. Various versions of such devices are known as “pump pots”; “air pots”; various all-plastic urns (sold under the registered trademark “CamServers”) and buckets with spigots, both manufactured by Cambro Manufacturing Company of Huntington Beach, Calif. There are also known in the art octagonal and rectangular cross-section bag-in-corrugated paperboard box configurations, such as those sold by BIB Pak, Inc., of Racine, Wis. The rectangular bag-in-box construction is also shown in Geshay, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,431, owned by BIB Pak, Inc., of Racine, Wis.
Retail and wholesale (catering) food service operators typically have need of such large volume beverage containers. However, permanent, reusable urns may be subject to various disadvantages and/or impose certain costs of operation, upon retail customers and/or retail and wholesale food service operators. For example, caterers must address the need to physically retrieve the urns, requiring expenditures of labor and fuel. The urns must be cleaned and stored, again requiring expenditures of labor, cleaning supplies, and storage space. Reusable urns are often the subject of theft or “mysterious” disappearance, imposing unscheduled replacement costs, as well as the replacement costs associated with the cycling out of units as a result of normal wear and tear. If units are lost/stolen or in disrepair, the business operator runs the risk of lost sales.
Bag-in-box containers are known, which typically involve a flexible, liquid-impermeable bag, having a spigot, or cap and spout fitting, that is received within a rectangular parallelepiped container, usually fabricated from paper, paperboard and/or corrugated paperboard.
However, rectangular parallelepiped-shaped surrounding containers can be somewhat awkward to handle, during filling and emptying.
Also known in the prior art are jug-in-box containers, wherein a relatively rigid plastic jug is held within a rectangular parallelepiped box, usually of corrugated paperboard. Such containers are manufactured by Ring Can Corporation, as exemplified by Wuerfel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,899.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a large volume beverage dispenser which addresses the foregoing issues.
It would be desirable to provide a large volume dispenser which is disposable, and preferably fabricated in large part from recyclable materials, and which is configured for easy knock-down for recycling and disposal.
It would also be desirable to provide a large volume dispenser which provides areas for placement of advertising copy, images or indicia, which promote brand identity, products and services, and/or “fitness for use” safety precaution instructions.
It would also be desirable to provide a bag-in-box container that has improved filling of the available space within the surrounding container.
It would also be desirable to provide a bag-in-box container which is easier to physically handle, and which can be more completely emptied than bag-in-box containers having rectangular parallelepiped outer containers.
These and other desirable characteristics of the present invention will become apparent in view of the present specification and drawings.